苦干 (kǔ gàn) — to work hard (with perseverance, often under difficult conditions)

Definition

苦干 means to work hard with perseverance and endurance, often through difficulty — it stresses sustained effort, unlike 努力 which simply means to try hard or make an effort.

verb
to work hard (with perseverance, often under difficult conditions)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 苦干，。
    Tā kǔ gàn le yì zhěng nián, zhōng yú zǎn gòu le qián.
    He worked hard for a whole year and finally saved enough money.
  • 苦干。
    Zhǐ yǒu kǔ gàn cái néng shí xiàn nǐ de mèng xiǎng.
    Only by working hard can you realize your dreams.
  • ，苦干。
    Tā cóng bú bào yuàn, zhǐ shì mò mò de kǔ gàn.
    He never complains, just works hard in silence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

苦kǔhard
干gānwork

苦干 joins 苦 (hard) and 干 (work) to mean work hard with perseverance.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ苦kǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艸 shows grass or plants, matching the sense of bitter plants. The bottom 古 gives the sound.

Open 苦 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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